The Whole Story
by xXx Fantasy xXx
Summary: There's a prophecy that states that, every 1000 years, a great war will occur. The last one is happening soon. Only the Kiu Shinobi - Kaori Kiuno - can save them. This is her story, starting with the Kyuubi attack all the way through the last Great War.
1. Prologue

**A/N: My new story. I hope you like it. It's the story behind my OC, Kaori Kiuno. She's in the other story, **_**Shinobi Magic**_**, as well. I figured that I should give the whole background on her and stuff. Besides, I've always wanted to make this a story.**

**Also, if you read this story, I would like you PM me – or just put it in your review – with the name of a jutsu and what they do. Not obvious ones, of course. I want ideas for jutsu that I can use in this story. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Period – End of story.**

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A long time ago, there was a huge shinobi war raging between all of the countries. (This was back when there were more ninja villages than there are today. They disappeared slowly over the years following this war.) As the end of the war came near, The Light Village allied with the Leaf Village.

The Light Village was a very powerful village just like the Leaf Village. The shinobi's trademark light blue or white hair and color-changing eyes made them easy to recognize, however, the most skilled shinobi could change their hair color back to light brown (if their hair was light blue) or black (if their hair was white), making them masters of disguise. Yes, they were a very powerful village indeed, with many secrets that were kept under tight protection and many amazing techniques that no other village could even imagine performing.

The Leaf Village was also a strong nation. Though they did not have the secrets and amazing techniques that the Light village did, they did have the most ninja out of any of the other villages, and many of those ninja were truly skilled in battle.

Not only that, but none of the other village had made allies since no one could be trusted, or so it seemed, so this gave the Leaf and Light Villages yet another advantage aside from their extreme power and compatibility.

Other people realized this, and became afraid. Seeing how powerful the two allies had become, villages started allying with each other. The Leaf and Light Villages saw how powerful everyone else was becoming. The only village that hadn't allied anyone was the Sand Village, so the two allies attacked. Unfortunately, almost all of the other ninja villages had decided to attack that village as well, and on the same day. Everyone ignored whatever peace treaties they had made and just attacked. This battle, the last one, became to be known the Battle of Light. Why? Well, that's mostly because of Kakuzai Kiuno.

Kakuzai was from the Light Village. His amazing skill and long, straight, stark white hair proved that. He was a very powerful ninja and the favored man to lead the Light Ninja into battle. He refused to lead,in the end, but he did fight.

The Battle of Light wasn't long. In fact, it only lasted for 3 days. On the third day, Kakuzai ran into the middle of the battlefield, almost dead, and let out an attack so powerful, the battle ended right then and there (Golden Light - Sky Shot). The Light ninja were thrilled. They had won the war! But as Kakuzai lay on the ground, dying, he made a famous speech.

"If I had the choice, I would have not let this war happen. In fact, not too long ago, I didn't even want to be a ninja. But I did not have a choice whether the war happened or not, as I was born into it. Curse those who let themselves be angered enough to rage into a war over their personal problems, over something much less than two little kids fighting for a toy. As for being a ninja, I've learned to love what I do.

"War is pointless. People die for nothing. We teach our kids to be nice to each other and solve our problems logically. But war should never be a choice. No one ever wins, even if they think they have. Therefore, I believe that no one has won this war. Don't start complaining, my friends, because you know it's true. We've all lost more than we ever will in the future of our villages.

"I am not done yet. I also have something else to say." There was a long silence. "Every 1000 years, there will be another battle like this last battle, but in it all of the ninja villages will work together to fight against all evil. Ten battles will be fought over the course of ten thousand years. Ten battles. And ten chances for all of you ninja to restore your honor. The one who will lead you will be from my clan, the Kiuno clan, for I will be sure to pass down my knowledge of love, hope, truth, unity, and strength. I would hope that my children will do the same. I will handpick the ninja from my clan that I want to lead you. Now, if you win just one battle, you will have restored your honor and I will recognize you as true ninja, even in my afterlife. No more battles. But if you lose all ten. . .well, what happens after that will be for you to find out if you so choose to do so. Rest assured, it won't be good.

"Goodbye, my fellow ninja. May we meet again someday."

And with that, he died.

His prophecy was known as The Kiu Prophecy. (In the Light Village, the word 'kiu', short for Kiuno, came to mean 'great'.) The ninja that he would handpick every thousand years was known as the Kiu Shinobi.

No one took the prophecy to seriously at first. Besides, what could a dead man do to them? However, when the first predicted battle actually came, people became a little tenser. He really was watching them, and he really was right. From then on, they began to prepare for these battles. They were sure they would win. How hard could it be?

8 battles later, they weren't so sure. In each of the nine battles they had fought, they had been easily defeated. The Kiu Shinobi always tried his hardest, but the villages could never get along.

During the next thousand years, the villages started getting along better, and they began preparing for the last battle. They were more hopeful this time. Everything seemed to be going just fine.

Suddenly, the Light Village disappeared. It was rumored that Kakuzai had taken them away, outraged by how badly the villages were doing. (By now, most of the small villages had been destroyed). What really happened though, which the people figured out later, was that evil ninja had destroyed the Light Village and everyone in it.

The people tried to convince themselves that they could do it without the Light ninja and even without the Kiu Shinobi. Unfortunately, things started falling apart between villages and everyone lost all hope of winning.

Little did they know, Shitzu Kiuno, 13 years old at the time, had escaped the attack on his village and ran away to the Leaf Village, disguised as Shitzu Yukimura. He changed his normally light blue spiky hair back to light brown, and then told the current Hokage about what had happened, revealing himself to the Hokage.

Since then, only the Hokages knew about this predicament, and swore to keep it a secret for the sake of the village, the Kiuno clan, and every ninja village alive.

About fifty years later, well, that's where this story comes in.

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**A/N: Just an introduction. It's almost the same introduction used in my other story, because it talks about the same things. Almost.**

**Review please!**


	2. Birth

**A/N: Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Period – end of story. (Not THIS story, DUH!)**

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_October 10 at 6:55 a.m.__ - Today, my son was born. They say he's a very pretty baby. Hopefully, not that pretty, because I'd rather he be handsome. He is a boy after all. Maybe he'll take after me and become a great shinobi. I would like that. _

_I don't know why people want to take this journal. They must think it is filled with secrets, and some villagers think that it is their right to know these secrets. I've tried to tell them that it is only my journal, like any other one in the village, where I write down my thoughts and feelings for that day. They are correct, though. This journal holds many deep, dark secrets that I wouldn't want anyone to know. No one…except my son. I've decided that, when I die, I will pass on this journal, and all of its secrets, to my one-and-only son._

_Naruto._

Chapter 1- Birth

It was only 7 o'clock in the morning, and already people were in a good mood. The sun was shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky, and the wind was blowing smoothly across the emerald sea of grass. Yes, today seemed great already.

But that would be an understatement for the Fourth Hokage, Minato. For him, today was one of the happiest days of his life.

That's because, this morning at 3 o'clock, his only son was born.

xOx

Minato closed his journal. "_That's enough writing for today_," he thought. "_It may have been only 5 minutes, but I need to meet Kakashi, Obito, and Rin in half-an-hour. And I still need to eat breakfast too. Can't train three crazy ninja on an empty stomach."_

As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the day before, having skipped lunch and dinner. It was a pretty bad idea that he wasn't exactly willing to try again.

Minato strolled into the kitchen, threw open the cabinet door above his stove, and quickly whipped out a frying pan. Suddenly, it occurred to him that he didn't know how to cook. "_Oh well. Wouldn't hurt to try."_

And that began this wonderful day.

xOx

"Hey you guys."

The three ninja turned around to face their sensei…

Who was covered in pancake batter.

Minato grinned. "Sorry 'bout the appearance. Freak accident with the pancakes this morning."

The blonde Hokage saw Obito stamped his foot, his eyes burning with anger. "Sorry?! Not only are you covered in pancake batter, but you're late! AGAIN!"

"Yeah," Kakashi muttered, trying to mask his own anger. "We've been waiting for an hour, sensei."

Minato just shook his head in response and sighed. "Y'know, you guys aren't Gennin anymore. Kakashi, you're a Jounin. Obito and Rin, you're Chuunin. You should be able to take care of your own training now."

Obito and Kakashi exchanged glances. Then Kakashi shrugged, as if to say, "Good enough for me."

Obito turned back to his sensei and grinned childishly. "Yeah, I know. But you're fun to train with! And you know a lot of jutsu that maybe you could teach us. We aren't asking you to train us like when we were Gennin. I'm asking you to help us as if you were our…father. Our fathers would want to help us get stronger. Wouldn't you?"

Minato thought about his newborn son. "_Yes, I __would__ want to help my son. I want him to be as strong as he wants to be. I want him to be a hero. But he'll never learn if he doesn't teach himself as well."_ He smiled warmly.

"Obito," he said, "of course I would. But you have to learn to do things by yourself, or else you'll never be a great ninja. Sure, being too independent isn't good, but too dependent isn't either. Independence can lead to confidence in yourself, and while also leading to arrogance at times, you can learn to have enough faith in yourself and your squad on missions. You have to learn balance. Do you understand?"

Obito, Kakashi and Rin nodded. "We understand."

Obito beamed again. "Spoken like a true Hokage, sensei. No wonder they chose you for the job." Then he pointed to himself. "With you as my teacher, I'm sure to become the greatest ninja ever! Hokage, here I come!" He spun around, only to find his sensei standing there, right in his face.

"Boo," Minato said.

Obito fell backwards. "AUUGGHH! Minato-sensei, why'd ya do that?!"

Rin and Kakashi rolled their eyes as Obito sat there with his hands in defensive position across his chest and his eyes wide with surprise. (Was that embarrassment glowing on cheeks?)

Minato laughed. "Great ninja, eh, Obito?"

"Hey! I was just caught off guard!" Obito yelled, his face turning into what Minato thought was a giant tomato. "Y'didn't have to do that!" Minato kept laughing. "You're so mean, sensei!"

Kakashi chuckled and laid his hand on Obito's shoulder, gently pulling him away from Minato. "You sound like a little kid, Obito. Let's get on with the training, or else he'll have to cut it short. Right, sensei?"

"That's right," Rin said, gushing now over the thought. "Doesn't Minato-sensei have a baby to see to?"

Obito blinked and then pulled away quickly from Kakashi's hold. "Baby? You have a baby?" He jumped up into his sensei's face, awe and excitement coloring his tone. "Is it a boy? Is it? I hope it's a boy!" Minato nodded weakly. "It is? Really? Awesome! Maybe I can teach it! Will you let me sensei?"

Minato sweated slightly, backing away slightly before answering. "Uh, sure…when he gets old enough…I guess."

"Woohoo!" Obito exclaimed, practically skipping with pride. "I get to train the Hokage's son! I'm gonna make him the best ninja ever!" He stopped skipping and smirked, crossing his arms in a valiant attempt to look cool. "Well, the best after me, that is."

Minato shook his head. "Yeah…whatever you say."

Rin shook her head as well and turned her back to Obito, who was currently play-acting a scene in which he was the sensei Minato's newborn son and was about to perform a "super cool" ninjutsu, as he put it. "So, sensei, who does the baby look more like? You, or your wife?"

Minato was slightly taken aback by this comment. "W-Why, I'd never even thought about that…" His brows furrowed. Who did his baby look more like? Why did it matter? But, of course, he would like it more if his baby looked him. It would be a tribute to his father, in a way.

Rin laughed as she watched her sensei ponder this thought. "Minato-sensei, do you have a picture of him?"

Minato blinked. "Oh. Yeah, I do. Here, it's right here…" He searched frantically through his pockets and his bag until he finally found the picture buried deep within the outside pocket of his overstuffed bag. He carefully pulled it out, smoothing out the wrinkles as he did so, and handed it to Rin. "Here. That's him. Cute, isn't he?"

Rin scrutinized the picture for a second before bursting out laughing. Minato was once again taken aback. He snatched the picture away, looking at it and then Rin, it and then Rin, over and over again. "W-What? What's so funny? Is there something wrong…?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong," Rin giggled. "It's just that I can't believe you couldn't tell."

"Couldn't tell what?" Minato asked, frustrated.

"That…he looks exactly like you, Minato-sensei!"

Time seemed to stand still when she said this. In one part of his mind, he registered the fact that Obito was trying to pull the picture out of his vise-like grip, yelling that he wanted to see the "Minato-sensei look-alike". He also registered the fact that Kakashi was also curious about this baby – his baby – and was also trying to pry the picture away, only to be dragged away along with Obito by the ever-serious Rin.

However, in the other part of his mind, none of this was happening. It was only him and his baby, together in an open field, the breeze blowing gently and playing silvery tunes that hummed in his ears. It was only him and his baby and the thin, tall grass whisking lightly over his ankles and whispering soothing reassurances. _Everything is okay now. The baby is safe. Your wife is safe. Everyone is safe. Everything is just fine…_

He wanted to stay here forever. He wanted to live in this fantasy world, where everything was perfect and nothing would go wrong. He wanted to be with his baby forever.

But the world was not perfect.

A sudden earsplitting noise violently woke him from his fantasies. The next thing he knew, he was stuffing the picture hurriedly into his bag and racing towards the cause of the noise, whatever it might have been.

"Minato-sensei, what was that?" he heard Obito yell, fear apparent in his voice.

The blonde Hokage spun around to face them and answered, "I don't know what's going on, but it doesn't sound too good. Kakashi, come with me. Rin, Obito, report to my office. Someone should be in there to give you something to do. Hurry!"

He quickly turned back around and began sprinting again, slightly slower than before so as to allow Kakashi to catch up. When he did, they both sped up.

"Minato-sensei, what's the matter? You're acting strange…"

He did not answer. He could not explain what he was feeling. For some reason, a cold fear had his stomach sinking with every step he took. Why was it that only a few moments ago he was blissfully happy, holding a picture of his newborn son in his hands, and all of a sudden, he was scared and anxious? Why was it that he got the feeling that something terrible had happened? It was a Hokage's intuition, as Rin had so wisely put it several years ago, when he had just become Hokage and had been training the three as Gennin for several months.

If his intuition was right, they had no time to lose.

"Kakashi, let's hurry up," he said, unconsciously spitting out the words more fiercely than he thought. Kakashi was startled by the ferocity in his tone. However, what worried him the most was the fear resonating behind the Hokage's every word.

Kakashi was not able to ask anything, though, because Minato was speeding ahead of him, almost out of sight. He just managed to stay close enough so that he could see his sensei, but there was no way he could manage to hold a conversation at this distance. So he kept quiet and concentrated on keeping up until they finally reached the site of Minato's interest.

In that one instant, Kakashi forgot everything he was going to ask. Those questions were demolished, gone with the building that was also demolished, flattened to nothing more than a pile of rubble on the ground in front of him and Minato. In their places, answers formed.

This was the hospital. The hospital in which Minato's only son had been born. The hospital in which his wife and his son should be sleeping peacefully right now.

Kakashi whipped his heads toward Minato, and took in the sight of him. He showed no feelings, the mark of a truly developed shinobi, but his clenched fists were vibrating violently, as if all of his emotions were held in those fists, struggling to break free. Suddenly his fists unclenched. Kakashi noted the blood where his nails had dug too deeply into his skin.

"Kakashi." The Jounin's head shot up like a rocket and stared straight into the Hokage's eyes. What he saw there was almost too much to bear. Sadness like nothing he had ever seen before swam in those deep blue eyes, but something else was there, something that troubled him deeply.

"Yes?" Kakashi answered slowly, carefully, still staring into his eyes.

Minato turned his head away quickly. "You know what this is, don't you?"

Kakashi blinked out of surprise. "You mean the building, sen – I mean, Lord Hokage?"

"Yes, the building."

Kakashi gulped quietly. "It's the…the hospital. Isn't it?" Somewhere deep inside he was hoping that he was wrong. However, life was cruel.

"Yes."

Silence fell upon them. For a few minutes, all that could be heard were the piercing cries of the surrounding children and their families and the shocked gasps from all of the rest. Then, as if something had finally broken within him, Minato sunk to the ground and covered his face, muffling his sobs.

"M-Minato-sensei…" Kakashi started. But he didn't know what else to say. All he could do was kneel next to Minato and put his arm around him. He struggled to hold back his own emotions, though on the outside his struggle was not evident.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. Kakashi wondered if he should be doing something to help. But then he realized that he was helping in his own, small way. Maybe it was not big, maybe it was not as effective as he was hoping it would be, but he knew that someone had to support him during this time of crisis or else he'd break.

Kakashi closed his eyes. "It's okay, Minato-sensei. Maybe…maybe they survived. But even if they didn't…even then, you have a whole village who's mourning over the deaths of hundreds of other people who were in there. We need a leader, sensei. The village chose you. Don't let their deaths be in vain. Please…" Minato didn't move. "Please! Lord Hokage! You have to help these people!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time," Minato muttered, bitterness evident in his tone. But Kakashi saw a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Thanks, kid."

"I'm not a kid anymore, Lord Hokage," Kakashi reminded him as they both stood up. Indeed, he was not a kid. His great height, his trained muscles, and his cold, black eyes proved that. But to Yondaime, he was still the same Kakashi that had trained with Obito and Rin for several years, sharing their smiles and playing their games. Minato ruffled the Jounin's hair with his head, infuriating him just as he had hoped he would. He chuckled.

"Kakashi, I have a task for you," he said, gazing out at the expanse of the burnt wreckage lying in front of him.

"Yes, Lord Hokage?" Kakashi asked.

"Find the Yukimura clan. Tell Shitzu, Nobara, and Sozu that I need them."

Kakashi furrowed his brow. "The Yukimura clan? Why them? Why not call Jiraiya, or…"

Minato gave Kakashi a pleading look that stopped him from continuing. "Please, Kakashi. It has to be them. Now."

"Y-Yes, Lord Hokage," Kakashi said, bowing his head slightly. He rushed off.

Minato silently watched him go, and then, he glided over to the nearest shinobi, who was comforting a young girl, about sixteen years old, who had just lost her brother.

"No, no, please! Don't leave me, Hayato!" the girl pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

"Sora, please, calm down," the shinobi begged, having run out of other options to calm the poor girl down. Minato recognized the voice right away.

"Obito?"

Obito stiffened and then turned around, rubbing his head while laughing embarrassedly. "Oh, uh, hiya sensei. I didn't know you…" He trailed off, holding onto the last word longer than he should have. But he was stuck.

"I'm sorry, sensei!" Obito said, clapping his hands together in a gesture of apology. "I didn't do as you said, but I just had to follow you guys here, and when I saw you…uh, y'know…" He trailed his fingers along his cheeks to symbolize tears. "Yeah, when I saw that, I decided to leave while I could and go help Sora, but…" He shrugged, trying to look indifferent about the whole thing, but Minato saw sadness in his eyes.

"It's okay, Obito," Yondaime said, ruffling his hair just as he did to Kakashi. Obito blinked out of surprise, and then tried to smile. But the smile did not come. They stood there in silence for a moment.

"Um, sensei?" Obito started, interrupting the silence.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

He said those words fervently, his eyes burning with a passionate intensity that Minato had never seen in his eyes before. The blonde Hokage sighed. Even the childish Obito pitied him.

That was not what he wanted.

"I'm fine, Obito," Yondaime told the young shinobi. "I really am. Or, rather, I will be. I just need some time."

"Then we'll give it to you," Obito answered quickly. He stammered a bit. "Um, that is to say, we'll take over here for you if you can't take it right now. You can go rest, or pray, or whatever you want to go do. We can handle this. Can't we?"

Minato smiled warmly at him. "I'm sure you could. But what the village really needs right now is a leader. That means me. I have to help them."

Obito hung his head. "Yes. That's right. Sorry, I…"

"Don't apologize!" Minato interrupted. "You had the right intentions. Now, on to more important matters. Who's here?"

Obito pondered this for a moment. "Well, practically everyone. Most of the Hyuuga clan is missing. And the Yukimura clan as well. I'm sure they'll catch wind of the news and head over here soon. As for everyone else…well, some are in the Hokage's tower, some are running back and forth between here and there relaying messages and some are here. That's all I know right now."

"Good job, Obito." Minato was a sincerely thankful.

Obito beamed with pride, for real this time. "Thanks, sensei."

"Minato!"

The blonde Hokage heard the familiar voice, loud and clear as day, and turned to greet his friend.

"Shitzu! I thought you'd never come!" He opened his arms in a gesture of welcome as Shitzu, followed by Nobara and Sozu, loped over to him. Shitzu waved wildly, a big grin etched onto his old face, emphasized by the wrinkles surrounding it. His grey hair, styled into wild spikes, had traces of light brown in it, reminding Yondaime of the days when this old man was younger and was his own sensei. Oh, how he missed those days.

Shitzu chuckled, stopping only a few feet from Minato. Dark green eyes met blue ones. "Well, obviously you didn't think that, else why would you send your student to retrieve us? We can't very well ignore a message from the Hokage! By the way, that student of yours – Kakashi, was it? – went to the Hokage tower to help out there."

"Good." Minato turned to the other two shinobi standing next to his dear friend and once-upon-a-time sensei. "Sozu! Nobara! It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, so what are we supposed to do here?" the raven-haired Nobara asked, her cool navy eyes cutting deep into Yondaime's own sky blue eyes. He briefly wondered what she saw there before pushing that thought away with a shudder. He did not want to know what she saw. 

_"And this is Shitzu's forty-two-year-old daughter?" _Minato thought, grimacing. "_They're nothing alike."_

Quickly composing himself again, he smiled. "Ah, all business as usual, I see. Well, as you can see, that…" He motioned towards the wreckage, "…is our problem. Someone seems to have destroyed the hospital and we're having trouble calming people down and cleaning up the mess. However, that isn't what I want you guys to deal with."

"Then, what?" Sozu asked. He shook his drooping light brown spikes out of his eyes as he said this, fully revealing his dark green eyes, identical to his father's.

Minato moved closer to them and looked around before speaking. "I want you to find out who…or what…did this. Got it?"

Nobara's eyes narrowed. "Is it really that difficult for the others? Why does it have to be us?"

Minato took in a deep breath. "I know I may sound crazy, but please, listen to me. I want you to use the Light power…"

"Minato, no…" Shitzu interrupted suddenly. "You know we can't do that." He glanced around him as Minato had done and, quieter, he continued, "You know that if we do that, we might blow our cover!"

"I know, Shitzu, but this is important!" Minato reasoned, practically begging. "We need to figure this out, or else it might happen again!"

"But, Minato, our cover! And if we become targets, then the Kiu Shinobi…you know, Sozu's daughter, Kaori…could be killed! We all could! And then how would you…"

"My wife and my son _died_ in there!" Minato yelled, his fists clenching. "Don't you get that? They're dead! Gone! I'll never be able to see them again! And all because of…of this!" He made a wild gesture towards the wreckage again. "Other people's families died in this, too! Do you want it to happen again? Worse, do you want it to happen to you?"

"We can't, I can't, it's too…Sozu, stop that!" Shitzu slapped at his son's hands, which were raised into some sort of hand sign.

"Father, wait a second," Sozu said. "I think…" Sozu's eyes suddenly flew open, his black pupils now shining as if a bright white light had been illuminated within them. Minato recognized this as the Light Village's trademark. Whenever they used any sort of special Light ninjutsu, their pupils illuminated as Sozu's did now.

"There's…" Sozu's eyes narrowed slightly. "I think…there's someone buried under there, still alive. I…I sense life…and some sort of ninjutsu surrounding that life but…I can't be sure…"

Before Sozu could say anything else, Minato darted over to the wreckage, digging desperately through it.

"It's a little bit ahead of you," Yondaime heard Sozu yell to him. Inwardly, Yondaime thanked Sozu as he moved a few feet forward and dug through a rather large pile of burnt rubble. Suddenly, his hand painfully hit something hard which caused him to jump. He shook his hand and then, more determinedly, he dug around the hard object. Finally, with one final push, he cleared everything away from the hard object. What he saw nearly caused him to have a heart attack.

He had just uncovered a small blonde-haired baby. The baby was sleeping, it seemed, and unharmed, as it was surrounded by a translucent blue barrier. Suddenly, the barrier disappeared. Minato quickly grabbed the baby and held it away from the debris that was falling into the place now unoccupied by the barrier and the baby. Minato sighed with relief and then took another look at the baby. His heart skipped a beat.

"N-Naruto…?" he whispered. The baby's eyelids fluttered open, revealing those unmistakable blue eyes. They both stared at each other, father and son, son and father, and for a second Minato returned to his fantasy land in that open field.

Abruptly, the baby began to cry loudly.

Minato tried to calm him down, but he was so shocked to find his son alive that he could not focus. He barely noticed Sozu pull the baby from his hands only to rock him in his own arms.

"Shh, shh, it's okay…" Sozu whispered gently. "Everything is okay now…"

_Everything is okay now…_

But where was his wife?

Minato knew the answer to that. He had known it as soon as he had recognized the baby as his own. He could put puzzle pieces together. The translucent blue barrier. His own baby within it.

She had protected their baby.

"Saki…" Minato whispered to himself, new tears forming. "You protected him. You…you saved him. Saki…" He held his head in his hands.

Meanwhile, Sozu had successfully quieted the baby and was currently holding him in his arms.

"Lord Hokage," Sozu said. "Lord Hokage, are you all right?"

Minato took a deep breath and stood up straight, facing Sozu. "Yes. Yes I'm fine. Thank you, Sozu."

Sozu laughed. "So…this is little Naruto, huh?" When he saw Minato's eyes widen, he laughed harder. "Everyone heard about it, Lord Hokage. Everyone knows about him. We don't live in the dark, you know."

"Yes. I suppose you don't," Minato said slowly.

"But…your wife…she died, then?"

Minato nodded, but he didn't cry. This wasn't the time for that.

"I'm very sorry," Sozu muttered quietly, looking down. "It must be hard."

"Yes, it is," Minato replied, also looking down.

"Minato."

The Hokage looked up at Shitzu expectantly.

"We'll help you," Shitzu said hesitantly. "Mind you, we won't use any…outrageous ninjutsu that might get us caught. But we'll still help. Somehow."

Minato smiled warmly. "Thank you. I owe you one."

"Yeah, you do," Shitzu said, sighing heavily. "Okay, Sozu, Nobara, come…"

"I don't think that's necessary," Nobara interrupted, walking past them, her puils illuminated.

Sozu, Shitzu, and Minato gave her a curious look as she walked slowly across the burnt rubble, looking around as she did so. She'd pick up a piece of rubble here and there, scrutinize it, and then continue, only to repeat the process over and over again. Finally, she strolled slowly back to the three curious shinobi, holding a piece of scrap metal.

"What's that for?" Sozu asked.

"Evidence," she stated matter-of-factly. "I needed to find the best piece of evidence. I think I found it." She handed the piece of scrap metal to Sozu. "What do you notice about it?"

Sozu took the scrap metal and examined closely. "It's...it's from a life support machine, I believe. And…" His pupils illuminated again. After a few seconds he finished his thought. "I sense something evil about this piece of metal. It seems some sort of jutsu hit whatever this metal was a part of right on this spot." He pointed to a spot on the metal where the color was the blackest. "But it doesn't seem to be normal chakra. It's…" His eyes illuminated even brighter than before as he scrutinized the piece of metal. "Not blue chakra. Red chakra."

Minato's eyes widened. "Red chakra?"

"Yes, red," Shitzu confirmed, his own pupils illuminated like his children's were. "That's odd. There's only one creature I know that has red chakra…"

"The Kyuubi," Nobara finished, nodding. "This has to be the Kyuubi's chakra."

"But then, why would it attack us now?" Minato asked.

"It's a demon, Minato," Shitzu muttered darkly. "It has no rhyme or reason. It just does."

"Damn it," Minato cursed, tightening his fists. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! This is not good. Sozu, Nobara, send out the message that everyone needs to be evacuated. Sozu, take Naruto with you. Now! Shitzu, come with me."

Nobara and Sozu nodded and raced away to relay the message. Shitzu stood next to Minato.

"So, what are we going to do, Minato?" Shitzu asked.

Minato looked up at the dark clouds that were forming quickly in the sky. He clenched his teeth.

_Saki…_

"We're going to go find that demon," Minato spat our through clenched teeth. "You up to the challenge?"

Shitzu smirked. "I'm always up for a challenge."

"Then let's go."

They dashed away, quick as lightning.

Obito blinked from his position only seven or so yards away from where they had been standing. He only half understood what he had been hearing, but he understood enough to know that there was a great danger nearby. A danger that his sensei and an unknown man, who apparently had some special secret power, were at this very moment chasing after.

Obito did not want to be left out.

He dashed after them.

_Sensei, Old Man, _he thought as he flitted through the village. _I'm coming to help…!_

Something small hit him on the head. He looked up and saw small pebbles falling from the sky. Over time, they grew bigger and bigger and bigger. Obito just kept racing forward.

Next thing he knew, large boulders surrounded by a fierce red chakra were falling randomly from the sky above him. They raced down to the earth, pounding it with a new kind of ferocity that Obito had never seen before. Obito abruptly stopped running on top of a rather tall building to avoid getting hit by a large boulder that crashed down right in front of him. However, in doing so, another smaller boulder managed to smash into his right shoulder. He heard a crack as his shoulder bone was crushed painfully, and instinctively he grasped for it, gasping with pain.

Somehow he knew that he was going to die. He could sense it. He could feel it coming. Quickly, and painfully, he whipped out a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled something nearly illegible. Just as he finished another boulder smashed into his other shoulder. Crying out, he fell backwards off the building.

As he fell, he watched as the largest boulder he'd seen race towards him. His eyes widened and then closed. He could accept this. If this was what it had to be, he could accept this. Just as long as Kakashi got his note, it would be fine. He will have performed his duty.

He clenched the note in his hand tighter. Maybe this was his destiny, after all.

He could accept that.

_Sorry, guys. _

The last thing he saw was a large red beast, emerging from behind another building like hell itself had come to life. Then, darkness engulfed him.

* * *

_Kakashi,_

_Please take my Sharingan. It's the only way I can be of any use anymore. Quickly, before time runs out._

_I'm sorry._

_Obito_

* * *

**A/N: The rest of the fight continues in the next chapter! I was going to make it part of this chapter, but it's too long as it is. I didn't want to rush it. :D**

**Please, review! Constructive criticism would be nice. Please. **


	3. The Kyuubi

**A/N: This should be the last introduction chapter. Then I'll get to talking more about Kaori and stuff.**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I most definitely do not own Naruto. Oh, and I also don't own that poem near the end by Mary Oliver.**

* * *

Chapter 2 - The Kyuubi

Kakashi heard screaming outside. He sprinted into Minato's office, where a few other shinobi were gathered in front of the window, and gasped at the sight.

_"W-Where did those boulders come from?" _He thought, his mind racing. "_This isn't possible…"_

"It's the Kyuubi," someone announced from behind the awe-struck shinobi standing at the window. Kakashi's head spun around, as did everyone else's, to find a raven-haired woman with navy eyes standing at the door.

"Really, Nobara? I thought we were supposed to keep everyone calm," said another person, a man with a light brown hair and dark green eyes, who appeared next to Nobara, holding a small blonde-haired baby.

"Well, they're being evacuated. They'll want to know why," Nobara reasoned calmly. She was the only calm one there, save for the man standing next to her.

"S-Sozu, Nobara," Kakashi called, walking over to them as the room broke out into loud conversation. "What's going on here?"

"Long story short? The Kyuubi destroyed the hospital, and apparently he's not done yet," Nobara stated, tilting her head towards the unbelievable scene outside.

There were loud cries heard from several of the shinobi in the room, some wondering what they should do and some wondering where the hell the actual monster was.

"Relax, relax, everyone," Sozu instructed evenly. "We don't have much time. Evacuate everyone you can, and quickly. Those boulders seem to be getting bigger."

All of the shinobi simultaneously moved towards the door. Some screamed orders down the hallways to others. Books and written messages were dropped along the corridor floors as some people dropped what they were doing and ran outside to evacuate the people of the village. Chaos reigned for several minutes. Kakashi did not think that it could get any worse than this.

He was wrong.

"Rin!" he called to the kunoichi as she sprinted past him in a hurry. "Rin, wait!"

"K-Kakashi," Rin stammered, spinning around to face him. Her eyes were frantic, reflecting the fear that he felt.

"Where's Obito?" Kakashi asked, successfully managing to keep his own fear out of his voice.

Her eyes widened slightly. "H-He followed you and Yondaime-sensei to the hospital. Did he make it there?"

"I don't know."

"We need to go find him." Rin ran towards Kakashi and grabbed his arm roughly, then dragged him out of the Hokage's tower. "Now!"

They both ran to the demolished hospital, gave it a once over, and then searched desperately for Obito.

"Obito! Obito!" Rin called out loudly. She stopped a shinobi who was currently leading a few children away. "Have you seen Obito?"

"No," the shinobi answered quickly before pushing Rin out of his way and racing off with the children to bring them to safety. Unfortunately, a rather large boulder crashed into the earth right next to them. They disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kakashi and Rin did not stop to see if they were all right. They still had to find Obito, and they both had a bad feeling that something bad happened to him.

"Kakashi," Rin said suddenly. "We should follow the others."

"But, Rin…"

"He might be with them."

Kakashi hesitantly agreed and followed Rin as she flitted across the village, dodging boulders and picking up lonely, crying children as she did. She was not the only one doing this. Several other shinobi were racing across the village on all sides of Rin and Kakashi holding as many children as they could carry.

Kakashi sighed. None of those shinobi were Obito. Where could he be now…?

All of a sudden, something caught his eye. Nimbly, Kakashi jumped off the building he was running on, dodged a couple boulders swiftly and easily, and raced up to his site of interest, hoping he did not see what he thought he did.

There was a tremendously large boulder, more than three times as tall as Kakashi was himself and just as wide. However, that was not what caught Kakashi's attention. It was what was under it.

Obito.

Kakashi knelt down on the ground next to his dead friend whose left half was smashed underneath the boulder, but whose right half was fairly intact. His right eye was still open and the Sharingan was still active, though barely so. He looked so peaceful, almost as if he were sleeping with his eyes open; however, the fact that half of his body was missing shattered that image immediately.

Kakashi carefully, slowly, grabbed Obito's right hand and held it to his face, trying not to cry.

"Obito," he whispered. "Why?"

As if answering his question, a piece of crumpled paper fell out of Obito's hand and landed on the ground below.

_What's this…?_ Kakashi thought, picking up the piece of paper and reading it. "'_Kakashi…Please take my Sharingan. It's the only way I can be of any use anymore.' What? What is talking about? And what does he mean he's sorry? Did he plan to die? Obito, what the hell are you thinking?"_

Kakashi crumpled the paper in his hand viciously and threw it as far as he could down the abandoned street. He was panting heavily, nearly sobbing, and felt as if he had been running for hours. He wanted to just lie down on the street and sleep for a few hours, a few days, maybe for forever. At least until this pain stopped. What happened to the happy, joyful day that day had started out to be? There was no joy anymore.

He knelt down again next to Obito and stared at the dead man's face intensely. "_Take your Sharingan? How could I?"_

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi's head flew up. He saw Rin standing on a nearby building, dodging monster boulders. Behind her and the building, he saw something that looked like several red tails waving back and forth crazily in the sky that sent a shock of cold fear running through his body.

_What…?_

"Kakashi let's go! What are you doing?" Rin yelled.

Kakashi shook the image out of his head. He glanced around and noticed that the boulder was so huge that it had created an overhang over himself and Obito, protecting him from harm. He knew that as soon as he moved from his spot, he would have to act fast to dodge those boulders. Carrying someone else while doing that would be even tougher.

_Please take my Sharingan._

It was the only thing he could do for Obito. Carefully, he pulled what he could of Obito from under the boulder. He refused to look at what remained, afraid it might set his emotions off again. Then he threw his friend over his shoulder and sprinted out from under the overhang to where Rin stood.

Her eyes widened as they had done several times within the last hour. "Kakashi, is that…?"

"No time to explain," Kakashi interrupted, his tone emotionless. "We have to get going."

He sprinted off before Rin could make another statement that might very well break his heart. As annoying as she may have thought Obito was, Kakashi knew that she cared about him. He was positive that she recognized the man Kakashi was carrying over his shoulder, however mangled he may have been, but even so, they had no time to mourn over him. Not here. Not now.

Once Kakashi had come to this conclusion, he focused on his surroundings more carefully. To his left, part of the village was still standing, though barely. In front of him, he still caught the sight of a few shinobi who were just finishing up, like he was. He wondered fleetingly how far out they were bringing the villagers before bringing himself back to reality. He shook his head violently.

_"Not now Kakashi_," he ordered himself. "_This isn't the time to space out. I have to focus…!"_

A small boulder about his own size clipped Kakashi on the opposite shoulder that was holding Obito, causing him to nearly fall off a building. Rin caught him just in time and pulled him up.

"Kakashi, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

He glanced at the abrasion on his shoulder. It did not seem too deep, thankfully. He nodded to Rin and was about to begin running again before another great sight caught his eye.

It was a giant beast, far bigger than anything Kakashi had ever seen before. The Hokage's mountain just barely reached neck-level on the beast. Its nine massive tails swung wildly in the air, throwing beams of high-energy red chakra aimlessly, it seemed, though Kakashi realized that those beams are what created the giant boulders that fell from the sky. The beast roared menacingly, its red fur bristling with intent, and…

Kakashi shuddered. _That grin_. Even though it was growling, combating, killing, and generally causing havoc, it seemed as if the beast's lips, outlined in a thick black, were curved into a malevolent smile. Whatever else the beast may have been doing, that scared Kakashi the most.

"Is that…the Kyuubi?" Kakashi asked, yelling over the noise of the beast.

"I-I think so," Rin answered from behind him. Panic was evident in her voice. "Kakashi, we have to get out of here."

"Y'think?" he muttered under his breath, but to Rin he just nodded. With that, they raced off again, just managing to get out of the village before the largest boulder of them all crashed right in front of the village entrance, blocking it.

They quickly made their way to where everyone was gathered, a little over a mile from the village. Or maybe it was two miles? They were not paying attention to the distance. They were both too distracted by the image of the Kyuubi.

"Hey! Kakashi! Rin! Over here!" someone called.

Kakashi and Rin stopped in front of the shinobi who had called them. They exchanged a few words and then ran for another minute before finally arriving at their final destination.

"So this is it, then, huh?" Rin asked. "Everyone is here?"

"Yeah, well, as many as we could save, that is," the shinobi replied. "Not Obito, though. We haven't been able to find him. We thought he was with you…" The shinobi noticed the mangled body hanging over Kakashi's shoulder. "Who…?"

"It's Obito," Kakashi stated flatly. "Yes, he's dead."

The shinobi's mouth hung open in shock for several seconds. He finally composed himself and gulped loudly. "Um, I'm…" Kakashi abruptly dropped the body right in front of the shinobi, causing him to jump. "Eh? Why…?"

"I need a medic, now," Kakashi continued, not bothering to let the man speak.

"W-Why?"

"I need them to give me his Sharingan," Kakashi answered.

Rin laughed embarrassedly. "Hah, Kakashi, always joking around like that. Isn't he funny?"

Kakashi stared at her. His eyes burned into hers. "Rin."

She stared back at him, her forced smile fading away. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Obito told me to take it," Kakashi told her. He hesitated and then looked away. "He wrote me a letter. I crumpled the paper and threw it away. That's about when you came to get me."

They were silent for a long time. Kakashi was looking away, as if trying to see through the surrounding trees. Rin was still staring at him, her eyes wide with surprise. The other shinobi looked from Kakashi to Rin over and over again before backing away discreetly to go help the others. There was not a place for him there.

Finally, Rin answered him. "I'll do it. Kakashi." She grabbed his hand roughly, her wide eyes staring at him intently. "I'll give you his Sharingan!"

She looked down, tears quickly forming. "For Obito."

Kakashi nodded slowly.

_For Obito_.

"Thank you."

xOx

_That's the Kyuubi?! _Minato thought. He sized up the beast from a far enough distance that he did not have to bend his neck back to see the top of it. It was huge, he knew that much. What else was it? A killer? A skilled fighter, maybe?

It knew what it was doing, he was sure of it. No one could accidentally make it rain boulders from the sky unless they were a maniac or could not control their power. This beast was no maniac. Its cool sinister gaze nearly screamed, "I'm a trained killer."

The beast suddenly turned its head towards Minato as if it saw him standing there. It seemed to have no pupils, though Minato was sure that it was staring right at him. Its pure white eyes were hypnotizing, drawing him in closer and closer…

"Minato! Watch out!"

The blonde Hokage shook himself out of the trance and jumped just in the nick of time. A large boulder smashed the part of the building he had just been situated on.

Minato looked at the beast again. What could he do to stop it? He barely noticed the destruction that it had already caused. That was irreversible. What he could do was stop it from causing anymore destruction. The question was still there though: How?

"Shitzu," Minato said after a moment of thought. "We need to hit its face somehow. Preferably in the eyes, if we can."

Shitzu nodded. "Yes, that would probably be the most effective way of defeating it."

"Do you think you could manage it?" Minato asked. "I'll be the distraction, if it would help."

Shitzu nodded again. This time he smiled almost as malevolently as the Kyuubi. His pupils illuminated brighter than Minato had ever seen, causing the blonde Hokage to smile back.

They both glanced over at the beast, sizing it up once again. It was still staring at them, growling menacingly, its lip curling against its large, sharp, stark white teeth as it did so. Minato and Shitzu stepped back slightly.

It was _definitely_ staring straight at them.

"Ready?" Minato inquired through gritted teeth.

"Ready as you are," Shitzu replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

They both disappeared in a flash. The Kyuubi continued to stare at the spot where they once stood, then shifted its gaze to the far left, where Minato had just appeared in midair. It growled slightly and snapped at midair. Minato quickly disappeared again just to reappear on the other side of the demon's face. This pattern continued for a little while: Appear, growl, snap, disappear, then reappear again.

Shitzu watched from a distance. To him, it almost looked like a choreographed dance. Each of their moves seemed to be timed so perfectly. They were flawlessly synchronized.

_"Ah, yes, that's right_," Shitzu told himself. "_I need to focus."_

He gazed attentively at the scene in front of him, particularly at the frustrated Kyuubi. "_It looks totally distracted. Heh. Nice work, Minato."_ He made a hand sign, still staring at the beast. "_Now, I've got to give it everything I've got."_ He grinned inwardly._ "Come here, Beastie. Come to Papa…"_

He released a large portion of the Light chakra he held as he raised his right hand, palm facing up, and yelled, "_Ninja Art: Silver Light!"_ The silvery white chakra engulfed him. Once the jutsu was fully activated, he shouted,_ "Sky Shot!" _

A thick white beam shot from his hand into the clouds above. Simultaneously, another thicker beam shot down from a spot in the clouds right above the Kyuubi's head, which was facing its right side currently, staring down at Minato.

_"I've got you now…!"_

Without even flinching or moving its head, the beast flicked one of its massive tails rapidly at the bright white beam, effectively cutting it off. Shitzu's eyes widened. It had been blocked? How?

He stared in amazement at the beast. He never knew that the Kyuubi was that powerful. This was one of the most powerful Light jutsus they were talking about, and the Kyuubi had blocked it without even a flinch! Unfortunately, Shitzu learned something else while he was at it. Since no one had ever blocked the attack before, they never had to worry about it. However, now that it had happened, it had become a problem.

Only a few seconds after the Kyuubi had blocked the attack, a bright white light flashed from the spot where it had been blocked, as if it was twilight and the sun was just sinking beneath the horizon. It was a quick flash, blinding and abrupt, but it seemed to do nothing until suddenly, the attack shot back up into the sky from that spot. Once again simultaneously, the beam was redirected, and blasted Shitzu full on. He screamed out of pain and surprise. He could not move.

_How did this happen?_

_Why?_

_Can it really be true?_

The beam was still blasting upon Shitzu's poor, human body even after a good, slow thirty seconds. He could barely breathe, barely think, but he knew that he had to do something. Mustering as much energy as he could, he pushed out a shield as he yelled, "_Shield!"_

The beam disappeared in another flash of light. Shitzu fell onto his hands and knees, panting heavily. He held his hands on front of his face and examined them. They looked and felt as if they had been burnt severely, just as the rest of his body did. The skin was peeling off in several places. He fisted his hands gently and flinched. Then he wiggled his fingers around a bit. It did not feel too comfortable to move around, but somehow, he could manage.

He stood up again, cringing slightly, and breathed in deeply. If he were not a Light ninja, he would have been killed by that direct hit. He might have been killed anyway. Nonetheless, he had survived, and therefore had to be more careful to make sure he stayed that way. That much he knew very well.

However, it was not his intention to survive this fight. He was fighting a demon after all. It was known for its power just as the Kiu Shinobi was known for his. "_Or hers_," Shitzu thought. "_Kaori is the new Kiu Shinobi and she's a girl. But does she have the power she's supposed to have? Something like…like this?"_ He looked back up at the demon fox. "_No. No one could have this kind of power. It's inhuman." _

He breathed in again. It was likely he would not survive this fight, but if that's what it came to, so be it. For the village, for his granddaughter, and for everyone and everything else, he would fight as hard as he could until the very end.

All of a sudden, it occurred to him that he had not seen Minato since he tried to attack the Kyuubi. He shot forward, panicked, but suddenly heard a noise from behind him.

"I'm right here, Shitzu-sensei," Minato said.

Shitzu turned around and darted back. "Minato! Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Minato muttered, giving Shitzu a once over. "You're not dead?"

Shitzu blinked out of surprise. "Of course not. I'm a Light ninja. We have a sort of…immunity to our own power. Sort of." He glanced at his burnt hands again. "I still could have been killed. That was a direct hit."

"Yeah, I know," Minato muttered again, this time glaring at the beast behind Shitzu. "This isn't going to be very easy, is it?"

"Did you expect it to be?" Shitzu replied back, shrugging. "It's a demon, Minato. It has all sorts of tricks up its sleeve."

"If it had a sleeve." Yondaime laughed. Then he smiled, evil intents glistening in his eyes. "Instead, I think its hiding those tricks in its tails."

Shitzu looked at the beast again as well. "Ah, yes, so you noticed too? Its tails seem to be the source of its power." He laughed, almost a hysterical sound. Maybe he _was_ going crazy. "What say we cut off its tails? Give it a little haircut? Those tails must be awfully heavy to be lugging around everywhere. We'll be doing it a favor."

"The Kyuubi doesn't take favors," Minato reminded his friend.

"Then it won't be easy, will it?" Shitzu responded, still smiling. "Just the way I like it."

They both disappeared suddenly again. Somehow, it seemed, they both knew exactly what to do. They had to give it everything they had until the very end if they wanted any chance of defeating the monster. If they died? They will not have died in vain.

Shitzu went first. He appeared slightly behind the Kyuubi on the left. The silvery white chakra that engulfed him drew in tighter around him as he shouted, "_Full Body!"_ With a flash, he disappeared again, just to reappear directly behind the Kyuubi, where its nine tails were connected. His whole body was covered with a thin layer of the shimmering high-energy chakra as if he had covered himself in some sort of glittering plastic wrap. He whipped out his katana and swung straight at the connected spot. Abruptly, one of the tails brushed him away, causing him to fly several hundred yards to the left.

Shitzu landed gracefully on the edge of a building and smirked. He was unharmed, having activated the special Light _Full Body_ shield. Thank God for that, or else that tail would have sent him flying back at least another hundred yards. It's not like he was not expecting that to happen, though. In fact, he had specifically prepared for that menacing tail by activating his special shield.

Shitzu glanced up at the sky. He noticed that it was not raining boulders anymore; instead, the Kyuubi was focused intently on the two shinobi. He smirked again. It was time to get serious.

He sprinted across the buildings as he ran straight up to the beast and activated another jutsu. "_Minato, can you hear me?"_

_"Shitzu-sensei? How…?"_

_"A Kiuno clan specialty. Sort of like a mind reading jutsu. Can't really provide the details for you though 'cause it's top secret." _Reaching the beast once again, Shitzu jumped and disappeared again just before another tail hit him. "_So where are you?"_

_"Right here."_

Shitzu reappeared on the other side of the Kyuubi and saw Minato standing next to him, grinning childishly. They both disappeared suddenly.

_"So, what's the plan now, Shitzu-sensei?"_

_"You're having too much fun with this, aren't you? You sound like a kid again!" _Shitzu sighed inwardly. "_Find its blind spot. Everyone has one."_

_"Okay then. Attack from all sides. Got it."_

Minato appeared directly above the beast's head, landed on it, and then jumped and disappeared again as the beast growled and snapped at him. A few seconds later, he reappeared again above the beast's head, but this time he brought a few of his shadow clones with him. One clone stayed on the Kyuubi's head and attempted to attack it from there only to be destroyed with the flick of a tail. It disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The other shadow clones dispersed, running along the length of the beast. The chakra that surrounded the beast burned their skin slightly, but it did not prevent them from performing their task. In ten different spots along the Kyuubi's back, the ten shadow clones attacked simultaneously. Unfortunately, before they could, one of the Kyuubi's tails wiped them all off. They disappeared in clouds of smoke.

From his position a hundred or so yards away, Minato sighed heavily. He had wanted to see if more people than there were tails would impede the Kyuubi at all. It seemed, however, that was not the case. One tail could easily defend the Kyuubi from almost anything, Minato realized. Then why were there nine of them?

_"Think of it this way, Yondaime,"_ Shitzu though, surprising Minato who had forgotten about the mind reading-like jutsu. Minato caught sight of Shitzu and a few shadow clones directly underneath the beast. "_What do you do if you cannot fit everything you want into a box?"_

_"Um…get another box?"_

_"Exactly. With the amount of power this demon has, there's no way all of its power can be stored_ _in just that body and one tail. So it has more than one."_

Minato sighed again. "_Nine, to be exact. So nine times the power it would have without all of those tails."_

_"Pretty much."_

_"Geez, why weren't humans born with nine tails?" _Minato laughed to himself. "_Oh, that's right, 'cause we aren't freaks_."

Shitzu laughed with him as he and his shadow clones attempted to attack from the bottom. Minato, feeling left out, distracted the beast by appearing and disappearing randomly on all sides of its face. A couple tails prevented Shitzu and his clones from going through with their attacks; however, Shitzu noticed that the tails were not hitting the people who were making the attacks this time.

_"Weird."_

At that moment, an idea popped into Shitzu's head. He grinned maliciously and disappeared again, reappearing a few hundred yards back.

_"Minato, over here."_

_"Coming."_

Minato reappeared next to Shitzu. "Well, so far, nothing seems to get by him. There's got to be a way…"

"Did you notice that while you were distracting it," Shitzu interrupted, "the tails did not hit my shadow clones or me? They did block the attacks, but they did not attack us. Also, the Kyuubi used more tails this time."

"Ah, I get it. It seems the stomach is its weak spot," Minato stated, echoing Shitzu's own thoughts. "And maybe it's the beast's blind spot too. If it can't see you, then why would it risk attacking you?"

"Exactly," Shitzu said. "That's my point. If we can somehow hit it in the stomach…"

"It's the only chance we have," Minato finished, gazing intensely at the beast. "Got it. So what's the plan?"

"This time, I'm going to attempt to distract it," Shitzu explained. "I'll also try to attack it as well, just in case I somehow get an attack by. Increases our chances." He shrugged. "I'm sure I can distract it enough. While I'm doing that, you, Minato, have to prepare the strongest Rasengan you have _ever_ used. _Ever_. Any less wouldn't affect this damn beast very much." He scowled. "When I say go, you have to attack. I'd suggest preparing yourself underneath the beast. He doesn't seem to notice if someone's there, as long as they aren't obvious about it. Y'know. 'Cause it's the blind spot."

"Okay. So go underneath it. Prepare Rasengan. Attack when you say go."

"That's the plan in a nutshell."

"Okay then," Minato said, gritting his teeth. "Let's go."

They both disappeared again. Shitzu reappeared first right in front of the Kyuubi's large nose. He made a face and disappeared again, infuriating the Kyuubi. Minato took this opportunity to make his way discreetly to a spot directly beneath it. He looked up, gazing in amazement at the wide expanse of its stomach.

_"Focus, focus, focus, Minato,"_ he told himself, shaking his head. "_Right. Prepare the Rasengan. I can do that." _

He held out his hand and waited a few seconds before saying, "_Rasengan_!" as quietly as he could while still being loud enough for the beast to have heard if it were not so distracted by Shitzu. His blue chakra spun rapidly in the palm of his hand, compressing itself to fit perfectly in it. The rapidly spinning ball of energy radiated a small light from within it just barely noticeable to the naked eye, especially compared to the glowing red chakra that the Kyuubi was whipping around more wildly than before. Minato thought of Shitzu. How was he doing?

He could not check on his dear old sensei, as he had to pay focus intently on his own task. Still, he could not help but wonder if he was doing okay. The Kyuubi seemed to be more angered than before and for what reason would that be? Shitzu could not be doing anything worse than what Minato himself had been doing to distract the beast earlier, or so Yondaime thought.

Minato tried to focus himself again with a bit of difficulty. Why was it so hard to focus? It was almost as if the beast had some sort of hypnotizing power that distracted his opponents.

"Minato!"

Minato looked up, surprised by the sound of his old sensei's voice. Why did he sound so panicked?

It did not take him too long to realize that Shitzu must have seriously angered the malevolent beast, as he was now hanging by his throat from what looked like a hand made out of the Kyuubi's red chakra.

"Now! Go! You have no time to lose!"

The Kyuubi's head suddenly turned towards Minato, who had been hesitating, but now was preparing to jump. The beast growled and tried to whip him away with a flick of his tail. Minato expected this and took the time to respond in kind. He suddenly flipped towards the oncoming tail and aimed his Rasengan at it. At the speed the tail was going, Minato would not need any more speed to power the Rasengan, and neither would the beast have any time to change the direction of the tail.

The tail rammed into the Rasengan, causing a large power struggle between both attacks. Large blasts of white light shot out from the point of collision in all directions creating a ripple effect. Minato held his place, grunting, and shouted, "Go! Now!"

All of a sudden, another Minato, the real one, leaped out of his hiding spot a few yards away. In his palm, a perfect Rasengan was already formed. He soared up with a loud battle cry, aiming at the beast's vulnerable stomach, while his shadow clone counterpart that held off the tail disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He knew he had this one.

He successfully slammed his attack into the middle of the beast's stomach. A large growl of pain erupted from the beast's mouth. It swung its tails wildly and lifted its nose towards the sky. Minato attempted to dodge the flailing tails only to run right into one and get thrown back all the way across the village. He landed on his back on a small blunt object. He gasped and curled into a semi-fetal position as he rolled off of the building on which the small blunt object was located and crashed onto the ground below.

_Shitzu!_ He thought suddenly, his mind frenzied, barely registering the pain. "_Shitzu-sensei, are you okay?"_

There was no response. He crawled to his hands and knees with difficulty and breathed in and out heavily. "_Shitzu-sensei! Answer me!"_

"…_Minato…"_

He sighed with relief. "_Ah, there you are. Are you okay?"_

"_I'm…Minato…please…"_

Yondaime stiffened. "_Where are you?"_

There was no response again. Minato quickly stood up, ignoring the searing pain that shot up his spine, and rapidly jumped up onto the nearest building. Once there, he saw the Kyuubi lying on his side on the ground all the way across the village. The blonde Hokage dashed forward, attempting to get a closer view of the scene. It only took him a few hundred yards to see what was happening.

Though the Kyuubi was lying on the ground as if it were dead, its tails were still flailing crazily in the air. Its chakra was also flying around just as crazily and aimlessly, except for a small bit of it which was shaped into a hand that was holding a man by the neck, leaving him dangling helplessly in the air.

Minato's heart nearly stopped. That man was Shitzu.

"Shitzu-sensei!" he bellowed, racing forward as fast as his legs would carry him. He did not stop to think about how he would save Shitzu. It did not occur to him until some of the chakra that was flying around smack him in the face. He fell backwards, flinching. Quickly, he recovered and hid behind a boulder that had smashed one of the buildings nearby down.

_"Damn it! I can't get by_," Yondaime thought. "_How am I supposed to save him?!"_

He suddenly darted out from behind the boulder and ran towards Shitzu, preparing his Rasengan as he did so. However, he did not get very far before being knocked back again. This time, he did not get up. He did not know what to do.

_"Someone help me. _

_"Please…"_

xOx

_"Huh? What's this?"_ She opened her eyes. At first, her vision was blurry. She saw a blurred image of a large grey mass above her, and some green on the outskirts of the image. "_What…?"_

The image became clearer after a few seconds. "_Oh. What's that? It's so grey and dark and…"_

Suddenly, a bright white light flashed from within the dark grey mass above her. It disappeared instantly, but she still saw stars afterwards. "_Wow. So bright. So…pretty…_

_"I want to see that again."_

A strange feeling was coursing through her veins. She squirmed. She heard a low, manly voice shout, "Hey! Look over there!"

Another voice, higher and lighter than the first, yelled, "Oh my goodness. What's wrong with Kaori?"

_"Kaori?" _She thought. "_Is that…me? I feel as if I've heard that name before…"_

Everything was so different now. She suddenly understood the words that were being said around her, and she could finally see and think. Before now, well, she could not even remember what it was like before being able to think, see, and understand. This was a totally different feeling.

_"I like this_," she thought. "_I really like this."_

She explored her newfound understanding. She realized that she could move something that seemed to be attached to her body. She lifted it up to her face and examined it. "_My hand? It's glowing…so…pretty…"_

Her hand began glowing even brighter, a silvery white light that took her breath away.

"Someone, get Kaori! I think something's wrong!"

Next thing she knew, she was being carried off in somebody's arms. She squirmed again, still staring at her hand. Its light was dimming ever so slightly, ever so gradually.

_"No! No! Don't make it go away!" _She thought, panicked, but the light continued to dim until it was nothing more than a ghostly shimmer on her skin. "_No! I want to see it again!_

_"I want to see it again!"_

As soon as she thought this, the brightest white light she had ever seen glowed in the palm of her hand. She heard the screams and shocked gasps from the surrounding people, but she ignored them, completely mesmerized by the glowing white light she was holding in her hands. The person holding her dropped her instantly out of shock, but she did not fall. Instead, she floated in midair, still holding that enthralling white ball of light.

_"Pretty_," she thought, staring into the white light. "_I want to see more. More." _

Then, the white light expanded rapidly, engulfing everyone and everything in its blank nothingness. Nothing could be heard, nothing could be seen, nothing could be felt.

She blinked. What was this? It was almost as if she was within the ball of light she had been holding only a few seconds before. It was completely quiet. She opened her mouth, trying to make a noise, but failed in doing so. She tried to move. That she could do.

_"Kaori…"_

She blinked again. She swore she just heard someone say her name. She also swore she could see a small golden light in front of her, getting bigger and bigger with each passing second. Within a minute, she realized that it was a tall, white-haired man surrounded by some sort of golden light. Her eyes went wide. _Golden light…_

The man smiled warmly at her. She just stared back, still mesmerized by this new golden light.

_"Don't worry. You'll get your chance to use it."_

She nodded and did not question the fact that this man was talking to her without moving his mouth. Then she reached out her arms towards the man. He laughed. It was a loud, booming sound that caused her to grin broadly. It was as if she actually knew this man. In fact, she felt certain she did.

The man smiled warmly again and held out his hand to her. "_You want to try it out now?"_

She nodded vigorously, her arms still reaching out towards this man. He reached forward and took her hand. He closed his eyes and breathed out, then let go of her hand.

_"Go ahead. Try it."_

She looked at her hand, which was glowing with the same golden light that surrounded the man. She did not know how she knew what to do, but somehow she did. She held up her hand, palm facing upwards, and grinned when the golden light shined even brighter, expanded, and then engulfed her once again.

The man smiled before disappearing into the bright golden light.

_"We'll see each other again someday."_

Then, everything went dark.

xOx

Minato opened his eyes.

_"Was I asleep?"_ He wondered. "_No, I don't think so. But then, what was that flash of white light? And what was the golden light? And…what was with that scene between that little girl and that man?!"_

He sat up quickly and felt around, swaying slightly and waiting for his vision to clear. "_That little girl looked a lot like Shitzu-sensei's granddaughter. Kaori, was it? But what would she be doing there? Geez. I must've been dreaming."_

He abruptly stood up, remembering what had happened before that flash of light. Shitzu, his old sensei, had been dying, grasped by the neck by the hand of death that had been formed from the Kyuubi's chakra, and Minato had been trying to stop it. Funnily enough, the hand was not there anymore, and neither was Shitzu.

"Shitzu-sensei!" Minato shouted, desperately. He ran closer to where his sensei should have been, but froze when he saw one of the Kyuubi's tails move. Wait. Why were the other tails not moving then?

Minato finally realized that the Kyuubi really did seem dead. How had this happened? It was alive, thoroughly so, only moments before it seemed! What had caused it to fall like that? The flash of light and the scene with the Kaori look-alike and the man flickered briefly in his mind. Could that really have happened? Could that flash of light have caused this? Could the Kaori look-alike and the man have something to do with this? Or maybe…that actually _was_ Kaori?

His head started hurting. This was too much. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before.

"M-Minato…"

Minato's head swiveled towards the source of the sound. "Shitzu-sensei?" He saw Shitzu lying on the ground a mere ten feet from where he was standing. He dashed over to him and kneeled by his side. "Are you okay? Are you okay?!"

Shitzu groaned and coughed. Some blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth. "I-I don't think so…"

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Minato interrupted, looking around. The truth was, he really had no idea what to do to help. "_Where's a medic when you need one?"_

"Minato," Shitzu continued, his eyes opened to small slits. He looked barely alive, and it worried Minato. "Minato, you have to finish this yourself."

"Shitzu-sensei, what are you going on about?" Minato retorted fiercely. "Go ahead. Make one of your jokes again. You know you want to."

"Minato…" Shitzu said again, but he did not finish. He coughed loudly again and rolled over onto his side, grasping his sides.

"Stop playing around," Minato pleaded desperately. "This isn't funny you know…"

Shitzu suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at Minato with intense determination, as if he was fighting battle with himself to stay alive. He grasped Minato's hands roughly. "Minato, I saw something. I swear I saw it. Kaori and…" He flinched and coughed again. Once he finished coughing, he immediately continued. "Kaori and…some man…who I'm sure was Kakuzai. Kakuzai Kiuno. I'm sure of it. And…and he was showing her how to use the golden light power, since she'd already somehow used the silver light power. I don't quite understand it, but I'm sure…I'm sure that's what saved us. That's what made the Kyuubi fall. It's giving us some more time…" He went into another coughing fit and did not continue.

"Giving us more time for what?" Minato persisted, shaking Shitzu lightly. "For what, sensei?!"

"To…" He panted heavily and attempted to get a good breath. "To figure out how to win. Minato. You can do this. You know what to do. You just have to…find it…"

"Find what? What?! Sensei!"

Shitzu's pupils illuminated faintly as he stared past Minato. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. "You know what it is. You'll find it. I'm sure of it.

"You can do this."

All life in his eyes dimmed away as his eyelids slid closed. Minato shouted at him to stay alive, to keep living, to keep fighting, but he did not hear. With a final smile, he felt his heart and soul lift higher as if something in the sky was pulling him closer and closer until he finally reached the clouds. For one moment, he thought he heard angels singing.

Then, he died.

Minato hung his head over his dead friend. "Shitzu…sensei…what do you mean I can do this? I can't. Not without you. This…why?" He said that last word with a passionate intensity equal to the deep sadness weighing down his heart that left him feeling hollow. He could not move. What was the point? It was all over anyway. It was all over.

Or was it?

"YMinato-sensei!"

Minato turned around to see Kakashi sprinting towards him, holding something in his arms. As he came closer, Minato noticed that Kakashi was holding not a something, but a some_one_. He wiped his dripping eyes with right forearm, determined not to show weakness in front of his student again. He stood there, his stance radiating determination, fighting with his emotions on the inside. However, as soon as he could recognize the face of the child Kakashi was carrying, all of that went out the window.

"Naruto!" Minato yelled, running to meet Kakashi. "Kakashi, why are you carrying Naruto?" His eyes widened as he got a good look at Kakashi. "Kakashi, what's with your eye…?"

Kakashi shook his head, and then held the sleeping blonde-haired baby out to Minato. "I-I really don't know. I was heading out here to help you guys, after Rin gave Obito's Sharingan to me. I'm sorry, sensei, he's dead, I couldn't do anything…" Kakashi stopped and then took a steadying breath. "All of a sudden, there was this flash of light, and next thing I knew, I was carrying him in my arms."

"Obito's…what?! I don't believe this, what's going on…oh." Minato's widened eyes lit up with understanding.

_It's giving us some more time…to figure out how to win!_

_You know what to do._

_You just have to…find it…_

Suddenly, Minato knew what to do.

He turned his back to Kakashi and faced the beast. Its chakra was just beginning to swirl around again as it began to recover. Even as the evil red chakra swirled around him, he did not flinch.

"Kakashi," Minato said, his tone not betraying any emotion. "I want you to put Naruto down on top of that large boulder way over there." He pointed to his left. "Then I want you to run straight back to where everyone else is and tell them that I want them to pray for Obito and Shitzu and everyone else who died because of this. After about half an hour, they can return to the village and begin repairing it."

"B-But why…?" Kakashi started.

"Please, Kakashi," Minato whispered softly. "Do it as a final favor for your sensei."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Final…?" He put his hand over his mouth and stared at the back of Minato's head. Finally, after a few moments, he nodded slowly. "I…I understand, sensei."

Minato turned around and grinned. "Thank you, Kakashi."

Kakashi smiled back, his eyes betraying his grief but also reflecting a deeper understanding of the situation than Minato had given him. The blonde Hokage smiled wider. He had taught his student well.

Then he turned back around to face the awakening beast. "Go Kakashi. Now."

There was no reply, only the shuffling of feet as Kakashi sprinted off in the direction he had come from. Minato closed his eyes for several moments. He dug up memories of his times as the student of Shitzu, back when he was only a naïve little Gennin. He dug up memories of his first missions, the Chuunin exams, becoming a Jounin, spending time with the Third Hokage, training Kakshi, Obito, and Rin, watching them grow up, becoming Hokage, marrying his wife, having his first child…

All of these memories held a special place in his heart. He felt a tear slip down his cheek and drip off of his chin onto the ground below. Oh, how he would miss everyone so much. He stayed still like that, crying silently for several more moments. Then he stopped crying, an odd calm falling upon him.

_"I'm ready."_

He opened his eyes as he slowly began performing the hand signs required to execute the task that he was about to do.

_"I'm sorry."_

The beast growled, having fully reawakened, and flicked its tail in Minato's direction.

_"I'm sorry for everything."_

Minato stared into the beast's eyes with a cool indifference that caused the beast to lay its ears flat on its head and take a step back, hissing quietly.

_"Please. Trust me."_

Minato kept staring the beast in the eye as he held the final hand sign. "You're finished," Minato whispered. "I'm going to seal you inside my child. Forever. And you'll never kill anyone…" A bright light began to glow in front of him.

"…ever again!" he yelled, finishing off the jutsu. "Auuuggghhh!"

All of a sudden, he felt nothing. He saw nothing but a blank white nothingness that surrounded him. Was this what it was like to die?

He could deal with this.

He could accept this.

He could die like this.

_"Everyone,"_ he thought. "_Everyone, please. Don't let our deaths be in vain. Don't make all of this a waste. Please. Protect those who are important to you and keep this village safe. Keep my son safe. Keep Shitzu's family safe. For the future of the shinobi villages, I beg of you. Please."_

He reached forward, felt a hand grab his own, and smiled as he recognized the touch as his wife's. He had finally made it home.

_"Goodbye."_

* * *

_When it's over, I want to say all my life_

_I was a bride married to amazement._

_I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms._

_When it's over, I don't want to wonder_

_if I have made of my life something particular, and real._

_I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,_

_or full of argument._

_I don't want to end up simply having visited this world_

_-_Excerpt from "When Death Comes" by Mary Oliver

* * *

Kakashi stood at the Hokage's office window in the Hokage's tower, which was the only building that had survived the Kyuubi's attack. He stared outside at the clear blue sky and sighed heavily. It had only been a few weeks since the attack, but already it seemed like years.

"Kakashi?"

Kakashi turned around and bowed to the man. "Sarutobi. Er, I mean, Lord Hokage."

Sarutobi nodded back to him. "Kakashi, I have something that I need to talk with you about."

"Yes?"

Sarutobi sat down at the chair behind the desk that had once been Yondaime's. Kakashi clenched his fists, an action that did not go unnoticed by the old man sitting in the chair.

The old man chuckled. "Kakashi, relax. This is my desk now, and it was even before Minato became Hokage, remember?"

Kakashi nodded and sighed again. "Yes. I'm sorry. It's just…this is hard…" He hesitated and turned his head away.

Sarutobi nodded as well. "I see. Turn around, please." Kakashi swiveled around slowly, tensely, and looked Sarutobi in the eye.

"In any case, I have to ask you something." The old man leaned forward on his desk, his eyes fixed intently on Kakashi's. "Kakashi, are you planning to leave the village?"

Kakashi stiffened. He remembered how upset everyone had been when Rin announced that she was leaving the village to take care of some important business only days after Minato had been found dead. Kakashi had known even then that she was not leaving the village for the reason she told everyone. She had wanted to leave just to get away from the pain, to start anew. Kakashi considered following her, at one point, but then he decided that he was needed in the village.

He shook his head. "No, I have no plans to leave," Kakashi stated confidently. "That's a promise."

Sarutobi sighed with relief. "That's good. We need you here." Then Sarutobi stood up and walked over to the window. "One more thing."

"Yes?" Kakashi asked again.

"I want you to keep a close eye on Naruto," Sarutobi instructed him. "You know how the people act around him now, since he has the demon sealed inside of him. Even Minato's wishes for him to live peacefully with the others cannot change their minds about him."

Kakashi nodded and then replied, "And Kaori? What about her? I heard some pretty amazing things about the day of the attack, and what she did…"

Sarutobi held up a hand to stop him. "I'm afraid that won't be necessary." He looked up at the sky and smiled.

"She has her own guardian angel."


End file.
